ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Ian is leaving thousands of people in need in southwest Florida.
There are many ways to help those in need, starting with the state’s Florida Disaster Fund.
First Lady Casey DeSantis announced that within hours of activating, the Florida Disaster Fund has received over $10 million in donations to support communities impacted by Hurricane Ian.
The Florida Disaster Fund and Volunteer Florida are working with the Department of Children and Families and Sunshine Health through the First Lady's Hope Florida Initiative to open Family Resource Support Centers with one-on-one support for impacted families, including Hope Navigators and counseling resources on site for those who are struggling and need help.
The first resource centers will open in Tampa and New Port Richey, but anyone who needs help can call the Hope Line at 850-300-HOPE.
To contribute, please visit www.FloridaDisasterFund.org or text DISASTER to 20222.
OTHER WAYS TO HELP:
- Go here to get FEMA help.
- The American Red Cross is accepting monetary and blood donations.
- Florida has it's own disaster fund at volunteerflorida.org. You can also sign up for volunteer opportunities.
- GoFundMe has setup a page where people can go and find verified pages that are collecting funds.
- The United way is accepting donations to help volunteers help those impacted by Hurricane Ian.
- Metropolitan Ministries: metromin.org
- Salvation Army: give.helpsalvationarmy.org
- All Hands and Hearts: give.allhandsandhearts.org
- Global Giving: globalgiving.org
- CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere): care.org
- Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund: Visit pinellascf.org/TBRF or call 727-531-0058. The fund is being administered by unitedwaysuncoast.org. Call 813-274-0900 for information.
- Flagler Volunteer Services urges residents whose property was damaged to register with Crisis Cleanup at the Ian Hotline, 800-451-1954. It can identify a willing volunteer pool for help with tasks like hauling debris to the curb or damaged dry wall.